Interview of the Year (feat. Julian Assange)

You obviously have a mistrust of authority Where does that come from? I think it comes from experience with various types of authorities So you've always been a little bit of an outsider Certainly when I was a child going from one school to another You are the outsider to begin with and you have to find your way in You've been called a lot of names You've been characterized as a hero And as a villain a martyr terrorist I'm not yet a martyr let's keep it that way I don't think many people in the United States Took seriously the idea that you were a terrorist I'd like to believe that on the other hand Incitements to murder are a serious issue and Unfortunately there is a portion of the population That will believe them and may carry them out Are you a subversive? I am sure there are certain views that we are subverting their authority But you're right We are subverting illegitimate authority The question is whether the authority is legitimate or whether it is illegitimate Do you consider the US State Department a legitimate authority? It's legitimate insofar as its actions are legitimate It has actions that are not legitimate In fact our founding values are those of the US revolution They are those of people like Jefferson and Madison We have a number of Americans in our organization If you are a whistle blower and you have material that is important We will accept it we will defend you and we will publish it You can't turn away material simply because it comes from the United States That's completely outrageous Are you surprised? I am surprised actually You have made some of the most powerful people in the world your enemies You had to expect that they might retaliate They see that as a threat They see it as highly embarrassing I think what it's really about is keeping the illusion of control I am surprised about that I am surprised at the sort of flagrant disregard for US traditions Look if you play outside the rules you can't expect to be protected by the rules And you played outside the rules No we've actually played inside the rules We didn't go out and get the material We've operated just like any US publisher operates And there's not a special set of rules for publishers who disclose classified information There is the first amendment it covers the case If we're talking about creating threats to small publishers to Stop them from publishing the US has lost it's way It has abrogated its founding traditions It has thrown the first amendment in the bin Because publishers must be free to publish We are free press activists We want transparent government not transparent people